Re: Sous vide
 

Did some ahi tuna steaks last night...110 for 30 minutes...

Post-bath/pre-sear...Thai seasoning and sesame seeds
http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...pscvbpshdi.jpg

Just a light sear in hot, non-stick pan with a little oil, 20-30 seconds per side ...served with fresh avocado and some cauliflower "rice", all thai spiced...perfect rare tuna, came out great
http://i313.photobucket.com/albums/l...pskp63pvdv.jpg

Re: Sous vide
 

Looks really good, Keith!

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Thanks Michael...if you like fish, try it sous vide....the tuna comes out great, I've done it several times...have also done salmon with good results too...keeps the fish nice and moist

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Cooked another tri-tip, about 3.7 lbs. This time it was actually cooked at a bit below 132F, vs last time where it was probably 134 due to my not realizing that when you calibrate the Anova IC temperature offset, it isn't saved to the IC, it only kicks in when you have the BT or Wi-Fi connected to your phone where you program the offset. I wasn't using the BT connection for the previous tri-tip, so I was almost 2 degrees higher than what I set with the dial.

Cut the time back a bit, about 6 hrs 45 min this time. I doubt that made any difference, it was just that was when the coals on the santa maria grill were ready for searing.

Much more pleased with the results this time, and I was pretty happy with the last one. This time it was actually still medium rare even after searing for a few minutes per side.

Next time I think I'll try it without any spices in the bag, just cover it with a coat of rub when it goes out to the grill for the sear.

Re: Sous vide
 

I did not realize that it doesn't save the offset. Good to know.

I did three choice grade, inch and a half thick, porterhouse steaks on Sunday.
I've done plenty of steaks with the Anova. So far they have all been Ribeye, and all have been prime grade.
I was curious if the sous vide method did anything to transform the lower grade steaks.
As usual, the steaks were done to a perfect medium rare, and were quite tasty. However, I really didn't notice any difference in tenderness in these steaks vs the countless choice cuts that have hit my plate over the years.
I did see a difference in how moist the meat was, but I wasn't amazed, so I would call it negligible.
I think I was hoping for a better result.

I did manage to get my best sear so far with the Searzall.
I'm happy with my progress with it so far.

Re: Sous vide
 

Looks amazing Keith. How did you prepare the cauliflower? We do a lot of friend cauliflower but I've never thought of using it this way.

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I did my first New York steaks last night -- until now I had only done Rib Eyes. I think the New York last night was the best steak I had done to-date.

On the Grill I always prefer the Rib Eye, so this was a surprise to me. Maybe due to less marbling?

Looking forward to doing flank steak. I normally do a soy-sauce-based marinade, but I think the meat will end up too salty with the sous vide, so I need to come up with something different.

Re: Sous vide
 

Michael, look into doing an equilibrium based marinade for salt content. I do this all the time when i make dry cured meats/salami. Take the weight of the muscle and multiply by the % of salt content you want. Typically 1.5% is a good starting point for non-dry cured products. You can always adjust up/down from there.

Example, 400g steak would be 6g salt. Now for the marinade, it might take a bit more math having to determine salinity levels of liquids used, but you get the idea.

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So in a "sous vide" world, is it worth the extra $$ for prime?

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broke into florets and put in the Vitamix covered with water...give it a few pulses til "rice-sized"....drain and then blot to remove excess moisture....sheet pan with EVOO and seasoning into 400 oven for a 20 minute or so total, stirring halfway thru...it will brown quickly so keep an eye

Love the NY strip..."Beefy" goodness

Gotta love the "science" behind cooking....thanks for the tip

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We found that a NY is very well suited for sous vide. Rib eye for the grill, but probably New York for the sous vide.

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Yea, for dry curing meats it's a great as you're never going to go over that percentage. There's just not enough salt to be absorbed.

For an idea on what %'s I use for my recipes:

Bacon - 2%
Fresh Sausage - 1.5-1.7% (all depends on taste of the recipe)
Dry cured sausage/whole muscles - 2.75-3%

Re: Sous vide
 

As I think about my ratios of salt for things like sausage, salami, etc, those might not apply to items like steaks, chops, etc. I would suggest starting out lower, then working your way up. Easier to add then subtract.

This weekend I'm getting half a lamb that I'll be butchering myself. Plan is to sous vide a couple nice thick chops. This is all provided I don't get sent to Mexico for work.

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I've been home the last few days because of the storm and decided to clean out the freezer.
First, I found a small roast beef about one and a half times the size of my fist.
No idea what cut it was, but it was likely top or bottom round.
4.5 hours at 131°. Much to my surprise it was unbelievably tender.
Used the juice in the bag and some mushrooms to make a gravy, and served it as open faced sandwiches.

Next up boneless turkey breast. Marinated for 4 hours, removed from marinade and did 3 hours at 145°.
Truly the moistest turkey I've ever had. Sliced it up and didn't even bother to make a gravy. Used the left overs to make Turkey clubs the following day and it was still plenty moist.
The texture was also very different, in a good way. It didn't have any of the stringy-ness ( is that a word?) that I associate with turkey or chicken.

Finally I found a few boneless chicken breasts. 145° for 60 min.
Used them to make chicken salad sandwiches. Again, unbelievably moist.
I commented to my wife that they were moist enough that we didn't need mayo.
Tried some with out mayo, and added a slice of avocado instead. It was really good.

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who woulda thought!....nice!....gotta try the turkey breast :dr

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Just got a food saver from Costco. Are there any special bags that you guys are using? Also have any noticed health benefits to cooking using this method? Looking to order a anova soon and hoping to do fish and chicken using the cooker.

Re: Sous vide
 

Just about any standard vacuum sealer bags for clamp sealers will work. I've been primarily using bags from both "FoodVac Bags" and "Commercial Bargains" on Amazon and I can't say that I've noticed any difference between them and the FoodSaver brand bags other than these two brands cost me a lot less per bag than the foodsaver brand.

100pack - 11x16 - $30
200 pack - 8x12 - $30
200 pack - 6x10 - $22

Some companies like VacMaster have a 3-layer bag design, where the middle layer is a mesh for air removal. While they work fine for cooking, the mesh layer ends up making one side of the meat look like a non-skid floor coating.

Not sure on the scientific health benefits. Cooking with less oil and less destruction to meat seems like the obvious ones. That and being able to take one of the most flavorless yet healthiest meats on the planet: the boneless, skinless chicken breast, and make it edible, has to somehow be good for you.

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I have to think that cooking a good thick London broil like this would make for some outstanding French dips. Best dip I have ever had was thin sliced rare London broil....ruined all other dips for me.

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Of course I open this thread for the first time when I happen to be starving. :r

Kudos to all of you, looks like some wonderful cooking y'all are doing. :tu

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Thanks Adam!

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Anyone see the movie Burnt? One of the restaurants apparently cooks this way and is touted as one of the best in Europe. But again, it is a movie.

I'm still waiting to break mine in when I go home next time. Wife got it for Christmas and it's still collecting dust on the counter.

Re: Sous vide
 

I put up some flank steaks this morning (two pieces, that I had to cut in half to fit into my sous vide stock pot -- It's a 20 quart pot, but only 12" in diameter).

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1454428462

I am planning to cook them 10 hours @ 133*. :D

Re: Sous vide
 

Cooked some lobster tails the other day. 134 for 1 hr.

Eh.

Nothing actually wrong with them, I'm just not into drowning lobster, or anything for that matter, in beurre monté. I prefer lobster grilled / cooked in a wood fired oven like in my pellet grill (like a Traeger).


Also cooked some boneless, skinless chicken thighs, they make for a decent cold sandwich - 165 for 1 hr.

Hard boiled eggs, conveniently, have the same cook temp and time, so I tossed a few of them in to see how they came out and I'm somewhat impressed, they came out basically perfect, no rubbery-ness at all. PITA to peel though. I think I'll add some white vinegar to the water next time. What I did screw up on was not reading the last few paragraphs of J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's article on eggs, about pre-boiling them to prevent the shells from sticking. oops.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/s...bout-eggs.html

Re: Sous vide
 

The flank steak came out perfect. My wife may never let me cook one on the grill again :)

The texture was great and it was very tender and moist. Used Lawry's season salt instead of my normal marinade (soy sauce, crush red pepper, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon).

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...8&d=1454467312

Re: Sous vide
 

:dr

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So just got an anova and my first foodsealer. Can you prepare foods, like vacuum seal fish and meats a few days in advance and just toss them in the water?

Re: Sous vide
 

Yes, Greg, that'll work just fine.
I've started vac sealing things before freezing them, and then tossing them in the water bath frozen when the time comes.

Re: Sous vide
 

Yep, what Dom says. Bagged, frozen, then into the water bath.

Leaving them in the refrigerator, on the other hand, I've had mixed results with. Mostly disappointing. YMMV though.

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Thanks guys. Did a swordfish last night I think it came out pretty good 130degrees for 40 min. Now doing a rib eye for tonight and prepped some salmon for tomorrow.

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You guys are serious with this thing! Damn I want some ribeye right now. I ended up with one of those Anovas in a Yankee Swap at Christmas. I was the odd man out because no one knew what the hell it was or how to use it, so I got stuck with it. Joke's on them!! Going to try it out tonight!

Re: Sous vide
 

Tried out the Anova last night on some rib eye, and you can officially label me a convert. The interior of the meat was absolutely PERFECT. I do need to educate myself on searing techniques though. The (non-existent) crust was a bit of a failure. Looked bad, tasted great.

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I can relate -- I'm still not an expert with the whole sear thing, but there's a few guys on here who can give you some tips. My big mistake was not allowing the skillet to get hot enough before attempting to sear.

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Vin, have you tried preheating the cast iron in a 500 degree oven, takes about 30-40 mins. then put it on the burner wide open.

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Searing is definitely the hardest part to get right.
I struggled with it at the start, too. It will come with time. Just need a little trial and error.
Get the pan HOT! Use oil with a high smoke point. And don't be afraid to let it sear.
I was always worried about having the food overcook while I was searing it off so I didn't leave it long enough to get a good sear.

Re: Sous vide
 

Have any of you tried the reverse sear? Look it up on YouTube if not. Goes in the oven first and then you sear. Gets rid of the bullseye affect where the middle is the desired temp but it gets gradually more well done as you move to the outside of the meat. With this method you get medium rare (or whatever you like) from top to bottom throughout the steak. Pretty cool.

Re: Sous vide
 

More tri-tip - this time with no salt or powdered rubs in the bag because I wanted to avoid dealing with the sludge that it creates, and I suspect the salt might be contributing to loss of moisture from the meat into the bag, especially as much salt as you need for a tri-tip. So I figured I'd pack the bag with lots of fresh seasonings, to get some flavor in the meat, then coat with rub before I finish sear it on the grill.

This is probably 2/3 cup of chopped fresh garlic, two large springs of rosemary each about as long as the piece of meat, and about half an onion. Somehow I managed to forget the hot peppers /doh.

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1454862770

About 5 hours at 131F later. Most of the spices stayed in the bag and I was able to wipe the remainder clean with a paper towel in less than a minute. When I measured the juices from the bag, I had less than a 1/4 cup. IIRC, I had about double that last time for a similar size piece of meat at same temp and time, but the meat had been salted and coated with rub prior. Not real scientific, but eh...

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1454862823

Now it gets the salt and tri-tip rub.

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1454863141


Seared on all sides on the Santa Maria pit. Burning a mix of old wine / whiskey barrels that were used to barrel age beer before being retired along with some plum tree trimmings. Searing takes like 3-4 minutes or so per side.

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1454863256


Finished. Super tender and juicy.

http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/attach...1&d=1454863355



Overall I would say it came it quite well aside from the point tip of the meat being a rosemary bomb. I'll have to dial back the rosemary and place it a bit better next time.


.

Re: Sous vide
 

Wanted to try my hand at pulled pork Sous Vide as one of the entrees for a Super Bowl shindig we’re hosting this afternoon. After doing some online research, I settled on a 5 lb pork butt and did a mild rub. I seared it prior to vacuum sealing because I had read that these can get fall-apart tender after a long cook in the water bath. I set my Anova for 136* and put the pork butt in for 60 hours.


Here’s the butt all rubbed up with spices and ready for the pre-sear. On a personal note, I do love rubbing butts.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1524/...44d0b943_z.jpg


Seared & Sealed
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1460/...1b554a7e_z.jpg


After 50+ hours in the water bath, you can see a boat load of juices in the sealed pouch
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1706/...673d9144_z.jpg


Here it is fresh out of the water bath
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1505/...4d457a34_z.jpg


Ready for the post-cook sear
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1719/...0d7ae536_z.jpg

Re: Sous vide
 

Held together pretty well during the sear. I did have a little chunk fall off. Probably would have had more break away, but I handled the pork butt with BBQ gloves rather than tongs to allow for a better feel during the sear. As above, lovingly feeling butts is my forte.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1669/...4f83890c_z.jpg


Finished product
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1508/...df7dfa1e_z.jpg

The proof of the pudding is in the tasting they say, and I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. The pieces of bark are decently flavorful, but the interior sections of the meat are decidedly lacking in any real flavor. It's extremely moist, which is a huge plus, but what I'm missing is that nice smoky quality I get when doing this on my Weber Smokey Mountain cooker. It's not inedible, but it will definitely need sauces to give it any real flavor.


The other thing that surprised is the amount of fat left in the meat. My research led me to believe that 60 hours - even at 136* - was ample time to really render the fat sufficiently. This photo, I think, says otherwise.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1576/...aacd5d0c_z.jpg


I'm calling this one a fail. :( Particularly given the high hopes and anticipation I had for it. It will get eaten, of course, but I'm not happy about the outcome.

Re: Sous vide
 

Fresh rosemary has loads of oils. I find that rosemary and any form of thyme are best in moderate quantities.

I am particularly fond of garlic coupled with rosemary. A nice combo. Lemon thyme work well with garlic, but I find that the garlic needs to be fresh.

I may do a tri tip next week after I finish up the hugs chicken that I just did.

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I would recommend not serving without a sauce. We used our fave commercial BBQ sauce in small quantities and it was okay. I think that next time I will add some liquid smoke to the sauce. I've been cooking with onion salt good pepper and lots of freeze fried garlic powder and saucing at the end. We've been happy.

I did not sear last time but am thinking of doing so on the next one to get some crunchy bits.

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My wife got me a Sansaire for Christmas and I've been playing with it. It's made some really nice steaks. I've tried a few different seasoning mixtures on the steaks, but so far I like salt and pepper the best. I sear in a cast iron pan by adding a spoonful of bacon grease, heating it until it smokes, and throwing the meat in there for 60-90 seconds/side with the burners on full. The meat sears much better if you dry it with paper towels first. Save the juice from the bag to pour over it when you serve.
I use a cooler for cooking - I cut the corner off of the lid so that the Sansaire will fit with the lid down.
I did chicken breasts in the mid 140s (can't remember the exact temp now) and they came out extra juicy, but the texture wasn't quite right; I think I'll try 149 or 150 next time.
I've also started pasteurizing our eggs. The whites get slightly cloudy like the ones that I remember buying from the supermarket when they were available several years ago, but they mix up the same.

Re: Sous vide
 

I haven't tried chicken yet, but I've done turkey breast at 145F for 4 hours. For me, the texture was perfect, a little softer than a normal roasted turkey. If you look up sous vide turkey on Serious Eats, Kenji's article talks a lot about the differences in texture for the different temps.

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Garlic powder. Trust me on this.

Or make your own garlic infused oil, but the flavor will be lighter.

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This thread makes me hungry...

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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UKPBXM4/...77402741770316

On sale for $140 for the next 12 hours on Amazon. Bluetooth version.

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A friend of mine who doesn't post here says "Damn you and thanks" :tu

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Did a 48hr Chuck roast that I ate yesterday.
A lot of internet posts claiming this to be a poor man's ribeye had me intrigued.
The second I cut open the bag my first thought was " I should've just made a ribeye"
I seared it off with the Searzall, which was by far the best sear in the shortest amount of time that I have gotten.
At first bite my fears were confirmed, this was not a ribeye, not a poor man's ribeye, not a blind man's ribeye, this was a pot roast.
That said, this was the best pot roast I've ever had. Thankfully my wife had made a mushroom gravy, seemingly on a lark, but it was exactly what this cut needed.
Unbelievably tender, though not the braised, stringy, cut with a fork tender.
I preferred this to the more traditional style pot roast texture.

Thus far, none of the 24+hr cooks with the Anova have wowed me.
The only one that I would call good was the 48hr lamb shoulder I did. Good not great. Plus I should've seared it before hand as it was really tough to sear without it falling apart.
The rest suffered from texture issues and reminded me more of boiled meat.
This was perfect, and had zero texture issues! I would absolutely do it again. I also would absolutely try doing this cut again, pulling it and making pulled beef sandwiches.

134° for 48hrs
http://http://i867.photobucket.com/a...ps6e4g3qxg.jpg

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http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps6e4g3qxg.jpg

Not sure why the pic doesn't show.

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I've been considering a chuck but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

I've been using brisket for my pulled beef sandwiches.

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Nice!....Not a fan of braised/crock pot type pot roast...it's the "stringy" thing...cold weather is a great time to give this a try...thanks Dom